Dog Portraits in Oil, cocker spaniels Lucy and Rosie

Lucy and Rosie, a work in progress pet portrait in oils

I find the more I paint the more I enjoy when a painting looks like a painting!  I like to mix a realistic rendering with thicker paint and visible brushstrokes.... especially on these cocker spaniels with their lovely coats.  I'll post some close ups of the brushstrokes after the paint dries a bit and photographs better.

I am in the middle of my 3rd painting session on this portrait-- maybe I am halfway completed?  Its hard to put a time frame on this kind of thing because I find I need to pay attention to the 'flow' and work with that.  Sometimes things need to sit and incubate and just be observed... other times I need to dig right in and not come up for air until its done.  Ahhh... taming the creative cycle is alot like horse training.  You get more done when you gentle it rather than wrestle with it! 

Today was a good painting day but I am going to pay attention to my muse and stop for now and resume painting tomorrow.

I've already said this a few times but I am loving the colors in these two dogs.  They are a great pair to paint with the contrast of warm highlights and cool undertones and then just the reverse in the other dog. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Sue Steiner

animal art

pet portraits